Inshore redfish harvesters from the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) demonstrated at Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) offices in the west-coast city of Corner Brook on Monday (Nov. 4) over a new rule that requires them to have an observer on board for fishing trips, reports the CBC.

The problem is that only five observers are available for the 10 vessels involved in the redfish fishery, the 60 protestors maintain. That means boats will have to stagger trips to share observers. And with winter approaching and good weather days becoming less frequent, that could mean losing fishing days, they say.

The Fish Food and Allied Workers (FFAW), the union that represents harvesters, wants DFO to change its rule to make observer coverage a requirement for just 25% of fishing trips, said FFAW president-elect Dwan Street.

That was the rule for the season from June 15 to Oct. 31, according to the DFO's harvesting plan for 2024. The plan also noted that observer coverage levels are in place to ensure proper monitoring of bycatch and discarding at sea.

The observer coverage is also an added cost for redfish harvesters, the union noted.

Recall that, in October, redfish harvesters from NL's west coast also demonstrated to oppose a DFO rule that said harvesters must fish at depths of at least 164 fathoms from June 15 to Oct. 31, to reduce the chances of bycatch, as reported by Undercurrent News. The DFO later amended that regulation to allow fishing in more shallow water, reported NTV news. 

A commercial fishery for 60,000 metric tons of redfish in Unit 1 was announced earlier this year, as reported by Undercurrent. It ended a 30-year moratorium. 

Currently, the fishery is open for NL-based harvesters using vessels less than 65 feet long. The fall season runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 30.